


For Closure, That's Why

by tinytrees



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Eyeball Redemption (Steven Universe), Gen, I'll add more tags when I write more., Redemption, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-27 06:20:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8390518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinytrees/pseuds/tinytrees
Summary: Where exactly is 'home'?





	1. Home

**Author's Note:**

> My first Steven Universe fanfiction is here at last. B)  
> I hope no one else has done something like this before.  
> But I hope you all enjoy!! 
> 
> Feel free to post comments on what you think about it. ;v; I'd love to hear all of your opinions.  
> I may make a second chapter soon too.

Regret; an emotion she didn't feel often. Except for when she is stuck in this endless prison of space, with no hope of ever returning to Earth, nor anywhere else for that matter. All she could do now was float - and think. And Eyeball wasn't much of a thinker; she takes action before she considers her options. She had attacked Steven without even questioning what she'd do alone, floating through space. Perhaps that wasn't the only time she thought with her emotions, either.  
  
Now she had plenty of time to _think_. For minutes, hours... Days even? It was hard to keep track of time. With knees pressed to her chest, all she had to do was wait. Her dark eye; once piercing and intimidating now threatened to spill tears. What was she going to do now? She doubted anyone would come and get her, considering how many Rubies there are. She would be easily replaced in no time, all her fighting wasted because she couldn't just listen to Steven.  
  
Her breathing became heavy, quickening and quickening until eventually she took a last deep breath and screamed. But who would hear her this far deep into space? Who would ever take her back home?  
  
A flash of light illuminated around her, even in the depths of space. Ruby squinted at it, blinking uncomfortably until her vision became a little clearer. It was a Roaming Eye, like the ship they had come to Earth on. Did Homeworld come back for her somehow? Another ray of light opened, seeming to pull her into this ship. The Gem felt a mix of relief and suspicion - she was always a little cautious, bracing herself as her small form made it's way inside. However, what lie  inside the ship took her quite off guard. Instead of her Ruby crew, or any other Homeworld gems for that matter, he was met with the Crystal Gems. Pearl, the fearless renegade who obeyed Rose's every command. Garnet, the strong fusion, consisting of one of her own fellow Ruby soldiers and a Sapphire. Her gauntlets were out and ready, but at her sides, staying unthreatening for the time being.  Amethyst, the tiniest Quartz she had ever seen. And...  
  
Ruby's fists clenched, brows knitting together. Rose Quartz, who started all of this in the first place. Why did they come and get her? There were so many questions, but she refused to even give them eye contact. "If you're going to shatter me, get it over with." Her voice game out in a gruff, low growl through her clenched teeth. With all the Crystal Gems there, she was outnumbered - she knows when she is defeated. That comment, however, caused silence to fall upon all of them. Amethyst was the first to break it with light laughter. That just made Eyeball _more_ tense (if that were even possible). "Nice. Now I'm just a big joke, even in my final moments. I _love_ this."  
  
Amethyst paused, looking to Steven, as if she were asking him to take charge. He told the Crystal Gems about their fight, but he was still determined to help her. The boy stepped forward, but the Ruby took an instinctive step back. "We're not going to shatter you," Steven began, "we were planning on getting your crew together again. I felt bad about making all of you...yanno. Get stuck in space. I'm sorry about that, by the way."  
  
Eyeball did not seem pleased, even when he apologized, her one eye squinting at him. "Sounds funny, coming from someone who shattered a diamond..." Her gaze broke from Steven's as she brushed past him, forcefully bumping him with her arm, causing him to jump back a little. The three other gems blocked her, to her frustration, but didn't expect anything different. So she stopped there, keeping her eye contact low to the ground with her head tilted downwards. Pearl was about to comment on how the Ruby needed to talk a little more sensitively about Rose, but Garnet calmly put a hand to her shoulder Then Steven spoke once more,  
  
"I'm not Rose Quartz, I'm her son Steven."

That wiped Eyeball's flustered glare from her face, replacing it with pure confusion. "What!? First you're a human, then you're Rose Quartz, and now you're back to the human 'Steven' again!" She air quoted the name with a roll of her eye. Steven shook his head.  
  
"Well, my mom was Rose Quartz. My dad was a human." Steven said, laughing nervously. "It's kinda confusing, I know. I didn't give you the full truth about everything, but I just wanted to help." Of course, the Ruby got defensive. She didn't understand how Steven intended to help her, other than heal her gem.  
  
"Help!?  You left me stranded for days! I felt like... I'd never make it _home_." Eyeball replied, the last sentence spoke in a lower, almost quivering tone. Home. The way she said that reminded Steven of Lapis Lazuli, and how she wanted to go home too. Longed for it, even. Maybe he could try to show her that home can be anywhere you want, like he showed Lapis.

"Listen, I know you're angry and stressed. We're all stressed. But I'm almost to _my_ home. You can stay there with me! At least until we find the other Rubies..." Steven tried to convince her, and was surprised with how well it worked.  
  
Eyeball took a very deep breath, then sighed heavily. "I have no other choice." At least she didn't say a straight no. Steven beamed happily, yipping out a 'yay'. The other gems didn't seem exactly pleased with this, but they didn't question it either.  
  
"To Earth, then?" Steven quoted Doc, who said the similar phrase 'to the moon, then?' before they went to the moon base. And he could have swore he saw Eyeball crack a tiny smile.  
  
" _To Earth, then_."


	2. Why Don't You Talk to Each Other?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl realized they had both lost something. Lost something very dear to them that they'd never get back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter!!  
> I hope you all enjoy. Feel free to leave comments on what you think, as always.  
> Thank you so much for reading. ;v;

The fly home was pretty quick and Eyeball was surprisingly quiet the entire time. The Ruby veteran completely avoided contact with the others after they took off. Occasionally, she'd roam the ship in silence before standing like statue for a couple minutes, then roam again. And the others gave her space as well; it was clear a lot was on her mind right now, and being saved by the Crystal Gems of all people made things very complicated.  
  
And the other gems didn't really speak either. The ship was filled with silence until it landed outside of the Crystal Temple. Steven considered taking her to the barn, with Lapis Lazuli and Peridot, but felt like he'll start here first. Eyeball probably wouldn't want to be seen getting buddy-buddy with a Peridot wanted by Homeworld and Lapis sure as hell wouldn't want a new angry roommate.  
  
Once landed, Eyeball was the first to get out, as if on instinct. When with the other Rubies, she always gets out first, as some sort of a look out. Her tiny boots met the sandy beach in front of the temple. Then she stopped, staring up at the statue sitting upon the face of the temple. So this was the place the Crystal Gems met up at, right? It was a guess, but somewhat obvious to her it seemed. It made her uncomfortable, her stomach turning. The Crystal Temple's architecture and design was impressive, although unnerving to Eyeball. The sound of the others stepping out of the Roaming Eye made her jump slightly, but distracted her from weird invading thoughts.  
  
They didn't scold her for leaving their sight, for even a moment. They didn't shackle her in order to keep Steven safe. They didn't even poof her. It was almost calming in a way, although confusing. . She turned her head and looked to the group, almost apologetically, then let the others lead the way. It felt weird, following after the same people who started this war in the first place. Followers of Rose Quartz. Crystal Gems. _It felt almost as if a thousand years of fighting didn't matter._ She still wasn't convinced of Steven's innocent intentions, staying tense and aware of everything around her. Or at least to the best of her ability. Although, she had to admit, the sound of the waves and the smells of dewy grass was strangely calming to her. Maybe this place won't be so bad to stay at, at least until her crew is assembled again.  
  
The temple looked a lot casual on the inside. Well, the inside of Steven's home that is, which was only a tiny portion of the whole temple anyhow. The other gems probably wouldn't let Eyeball explore those areas, though. "Welcome to your new home!!" Steven exclaimed as Eyeball entered, opening his arms wide. "Temporary home." Garnet corrected calmly with her hands rested on her hips. The small red gem didn't really say anything in response, her eye glancing around at the different sights. The kitchen to the right, Steven's little loft to the left, and the warp in the back, which was illuminated by a soft light.

Of course, the thing that really caught her eye was the portrait of Rose Quartz that hung above the door. She always checked behind herself once in a while, an instinct she adapted during the Gem War. Who knows when someone could come up behind you and poof you, right? But the red gem froze, her single eye locked onto the framed photo. The other four gems paused, watching cautiously. Steven slowly lowered his arms now. Silence filled the room fairly quickly.  
  
Eventually, Eyeball turned back around, the back of her hand rubbing (wiping?) her eye. Once her arm lowered, it was clear she was about to tear up. She didn't expect the other gems to be staring at her, though. Defensively, he gave them a nasty look and growled, "what are you lookin' at!?" before huffing and approaching Steven's bed. Both Steven and Amethyst couldn't help but chuckle childishly. Steven soon followed after her,  keeping a close eye on her while trying to stay friendly.  
  
"Whatcha doin'?" He asked curiously. The Ruby was studying the couch set up beside the stairs that lead to Steven's bed. From the couch cushions to the little knickknacks on the shelves above, her eye roamed.  Then she began going up the stairs, studying yet again. Garnet decided to go work on her own things, leaving the group after informing them of where she was going before going to the warp in the back. This left Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst to watch over Eyeball. Amethyst only stayed to watch her clumsily settle in. She thought it was funny to watch her look at things so closely, as if a toy boat was a secret weapon. Peridot had settled in similarly - unaware of everything Earth had to offer. Eyeball knew a bit more, but still had that obliviousness.  
  
"I'm just lookin'." The Ruby veteran said, shrugging her shoulders. Her small hands touched and felt the bed. Steven was confused as to why she was looking at thoroughly at everything, but didn't continue to question her. At least until she began tapping the screen on his television, pressing the various buttons. When it turned on, the static caused her to jump in surprise. "Gah! What is this!?"  
  
Steven couldn't help but snicker, putting a hand to his mouth. "It's my T.V. You watch stuff on it." He said, picking up his remote, switching the channels to something that wasn't black and white static. He didn't have many channels, but Eyeball seemed pleased with this random crime show he switched to.  
  
Eyeball sat in front of it, legs criss-crossed. "Alright, this is good. Thank you." Her voice was quiet as she spoke the last sentence. "I'll live here."  
  
"You're welcome!" Steven began, but tilted his head at the second comment. Live up here?  "Um. This is kinda my room."  
  
The  Ruby took a glance to him. "Oh." Her naturally menacing look intimidated Steven, to some extent. Even if she wasn't meaning to look threatening, she just was. Well, maybe it was because she previously tried to kill him, but whatever. Steven laughed nervously in response. Something about her seemed off, which shouldn't be surprising to him.  
  
"Well, actually... Never mind. You can stay here for now if you want. It's no big deal." He said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'll let you get settled in."  
  
Pearl didn't quite understand why Steven still wanted to help gems, even after they try to hurt him. That was the difference between him and Rose Quartz. He refused to punish others, even if they deserved it. Steven left Eyeball, climbing down the steps. Pearl was studying the both of them, deep in thought as she tapped her chin in silence. "I can't believe we're going through with this. Doesn't she seem a little ... Unstable?"  
  
Steven looked up at her, then to Eyeball. It was understandable that Pearl was suspicious - but Eyeball was just as suspicious about them as they were about her. They both wondered about each other's intentions. Eyeball was untrustworthy due to her actions towards Steven while in space, however she was behaving thus far. Pearl suspected it was just because she knew she was outnumbered by them. What would happen at night when the gems are doing their own things as Steven sleeps?  
  
"I was actually hoping you'd try talking to her." The half-gem said after a moment's silence, his voice low to keep Eyeball from hearing them. Now _that_ was more of a surprise to her than anything.  
  
"Why?" Pearl asked, dubious. What could she possibly talk about with her? How her day was? She was stuck in space all day!  
  
"I feel like you'd most relate to her," Steven tried to clear up her confusion, but only created more questions. Of course, the two gems had fought in the war, but they were _enemies_. What else could be relatable?  
  
Oh.  
  
Pearl realized they had both _lost_ something. Lost something very dear to them that they'd never get back. And they've both gone through trauma while being forced to _destroy_ other gems. Eyeball was one of the only Homeworld gems she had spoke to lately that had experienced war, aside from Jasper since she was bubbled currently.  
  
Perhaps using these relative experiences to understand each other may bring them closer. May even break Eyeball out of her shell a little. She was always very tense, ever since the first time they met. You couldn't set foot 3 feet of Eyeball without her taking steps back, or growling at you in warning.  
  
Even if talking wouldn't work, Steven wanted to at least try to reach out to her and he felt Pearl would be the best talker out of all the Crystal Gems. And Amethyst sorta left already - bored. Pearl was gentle and (usually) honest, and had a lot in common with Eyeball already.  
  
Pearl took another look to Steven and he had this puppy-dog look. You know the one. Irresistible and impossible to say no to. She sighed, turning to the stairs leading up to Steven's bed.  
  
"Fine, but if anything happens, I hope you'll understand."


End file.
